How many times a day should I pray? I don't come from a religious family, so I have a lot of questions, but I do want to do what's right. — J.C.

I'm thankful you want to do what is right in God's eyes—and I suspect the reason is because down inside you have a yearning for something you never had when you were growing up. What is it? I believe it is a yearning for God.

And the most important thing I can tell you is that God wants to satisfy that yearning! God not only made you, but He loves you and He wants to come into your life and fill the emptiness you have felt there. Jesus' promise is for you: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).

This is why the most important prayer you can make is to ask Jesus Christ to come into your life. You see, our greatest problem is that we are separated from God—and the reason is because of our sin. But Jesus Christ came to take away our sins, and He did this by taking all of our sins upon Himself and becoming the final sacrifice for sin.

The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Receive this gift today by asking Christ to come into your life—and He will. Then know that you can turn to Him in prayer every moment of the day. Sometimes your prayers will be very deliberate. But sometimes you'll find yourself in an attitude of prayer without even being aware of it, as you "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18).